Recognising Antae

The next time you visit a church ruin in Ireland and want to show you know something you can say, ‘Look at the antae, it must be very old,’ or alternatively, ‘I don’t see any antae, it must not be very old.’ 

However, if you are not sure what antae are, first you could visit the old church at Dulane (in Meath) to find out.

You won’t spot the antae immediately. The huge stones in the walls will be the first to catch your eye. They are called ‘cyclopean’ for good reasons and are found only in the oldest churches. Maybe the monks who built them felt a need to compete with nearby megalithic Newgrange!

However, the earliest churches on the site were wooden and when timber could not support a heavy roof, log pillars were added outside at each end to help bear the weight. These were called ‘antae’, from the word ‘ante’ meaning ‘in front of’. 

Later when stones replaced wood and the walls were strong enough to support the roof, timber antae were no longer needed. However stone versions continued to be added to the building either for decorative reasons or because customs die hard.  When you know what you are looking for antae are not hard to spot in places like Dulane.

Cairnech from Cornwall built the first modest cell at Dulane. He might even have been there before Patrick arrived.  That is not as strange as it may seem. There were two periods of Irish colonisation of Cornwall and the first was in the 5th century when Cairnech was alive and Christianity was beginning to spread in Ireland. Contrary to how we have come to think of it, Cairnech was bringing the Christian message to the land of the colonisers.

Few today may know this pioneer but his activities in Ireland are no secret. We have more information on Cairnech than on many of his Irish contemporaries. His contributions, along with those of Patrick and Brendan, are noted in the 8^th century law tract known as Seanchas Mar, the largest collection of early Irish legal texts.

From other references we know of his active involvement in Irish developments and he even got a place in Irish folklore.

He is mentioned in the story of Muircheartach mac Erca, King of Ireland, who was cursed by a woman that he would die the ‘Threefold Death’ of being burned, drowned, and stabbed. Cairnech was one of those who tried to help the king escape this fate but despite his efforts the king was wounded, trapped in a burning house and died by falling into a vat of wine. 

When you visit Dulane watch out of the huge stones, the antae and other signs of the active role Dulane played until the Normans times and efforts began to downplay the Irish heritage.

But I was left with a number of questions: What qualified Cairnech to be involved in Irish law-making? Why was Muircheartach cursed? How did Cairnech ever become a Christian?

A visit to a place like Dulane can remind us of how little we know.